


Daminette December

by Minnhae



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Daminette December 2019, F/M, TW Day 3: Major Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:35:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21632278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Minnhae/pseuds/Minnhae
Summary: Filling of prompts following the Daminette December calendar (with some exceptions).
Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Damian Wayne
Comments: 89
Kudos: 425





	1. Day 1: Just A Friend

**Author's Note:**

> This is cross posted to my tumblr: @otpnessmess

When the new french student arrived in their class at Gotham Academy, Jon had made it his mission to befriend her before anyone else, and unfortunately for Damian, he had dragged him along. It wasn’t really that hard. Once she found out they spoke French as well as English, she was much more willing to engage in conversation with them. Had it not been for the Wayne boy dragging both of the giggling idiots back to class after lunch, they would’ve probably missed it altogether.

After that first day, wherever Jon and Damian went, so did Marinette. She was joined at the hip to the boy who looked so much like her that everyone took to calling them twins (not that they were aware of it since they kept to themselves, mostly for Damian’s sake).

Weeks went by as they explored this new found dynamic between them. Jon, being observant as he was, found it more and more amusing to witness what he was very sure was his best friend falling in love with their new friend.

The blue-eyed boy took it upon himself to get them together because, even if he would tease Damian mercilessly about it, the truth was he was worried about how closed off his friend still was, despite having lived away from his mother for the better part of 5 years already. Hell, he was not about to disregard this opportunity, seeing as how comfortable the pair were together effortlessly. Marinette had been drawing out a side of Damian that he hadn’t ever seen before. He was _laughing openly in the cafeteria_. If the looks everyone was throwing at their table were anything to go by, they were all as baffled as he was.

The next day, Operation “Oblivious Idiots” was a go. The first phase was set to start immediately.

Jon began discreetly giving them more and more space, making excuses to leave before lunch ended to see if they could work it out by themselves. If he was honest, he didn’t think he was lucky enough for the operation to be done before phase two, but Jon could at least hope he would have to do the least work possible.

After a week, he had to admit his current plan was going nowhere. With a defeated sigh from behind the pillar he was using as a cover to spy on his friends, he mentally kept the tally: phase two takes off right now. With that, he put on a smug expression and sat next to Marinette, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and leaning into her side. “Hey, my dad just needed to ask me something, so I’m back to bless you both with my presence.” Mari’s smile could have eclipsed the sun as she snuggled against his side comfortably under the scrutiny of Damian’s eyes, who looked ready to murder his best friend. He couldn’t have known that was exactly what Jon wanted.

Superboy would be lying if he said he wasn’t enjoying riling up Robin. Just watching as his face contorted, while trying to hide the fact that he was very much bothered about how close and touchy Jon and Marinette had been the last few days, was incredibly entertaining in and of itself. With each passing day Jon tried to lay it on thicker and thicker each passing lunch, until one day, Damian finally reached his limit. He had been trying to keep his touches platonic enough to not make Mari uncomfortable but not innocent enough that his best friend would ignore it. This day in particular, he had started to feel a bit frustrated. It seemed like he would have to start planning out a phase three if the two dumbasses he called friends decided to keep ignoring their feelings, so he decided to just land a low blow as a last resort.

It hadn’t been a grand gesture like he had done a couple days prior, just a sassy comment whispered in Marinette’s ear that made her laugh and a soft kiss to her temple. Nevertheless, it was more than enough for Damian to scoff and take a quick leave in the direction of the stairs that led to the roof. Jon saw him leave with a little smile. ‘How predictable.’

“You should go see what’s wrong. He usually trusts you to talk about these things.” With a nod and worry etched into every nook and cranny of her face, she got up and followed in Damian’s footsteps, leaving Jon to silently root for her.

By the time Mari reached the roof, he was leaning over the railing with a scowl on his face. She wasn’t completely sure why that was, like sure, Jon had been acting sweeter to her that week, but it wasn’t really that strange. A lot of her friends back in Paris were just like that. Damian seemed angry at something, which made her approach him the way one would a sleeping bear, careful not to poke it with a stick.

“Dami?” Her soft voice made him glance at her, and for just a second she could see the anger dissolve into something she didn’t want to put her hopes on. “Are you okay?” Marinette walked closer and leaned on the railing next to him, not wanting to invade his personal space right now.

“I’m perfectly fine. Don’t worry.” He tried to make it sound nonchalant, but she could see his white knuckles as he was gripping the railing, as well as his furrowed brow. Gathering courage from the deepest parts of herself, she gently ran her fingers over his clenched fists trying to get them to relax. “I don’t believe you.” Once she felt his hands give way, she wrapped them in hers, not caring how this could come across, as long as it helped calm down the boy she had fallen for during the course of the months since she came to Gotham. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed something has had you on edge the whole week, Dames. What is it? Maybe I can help.”

Green eyes met blue ones, and he didn’t know how to explain it to her. The word jealous was something he would never acknowledge could apply to him, but seeing the worry and need to help the tiny French girl was harbouring within herself made him feel guilty about it. She wanted answers, and he wasn’t about to back out like a coward.

“You’ve been awfully close to Jon.”

Once blurted out, the words hung out in the space between them, freezing them for a moment. Damian could see a shadow of confusion clouding her eyes and could only sigh before elaborating. “He’s always touching and hugging you. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he hasn’t been able to keep his hands off of you.”

Marinette’s face quickly morphed from confusion, to understanding, to (surprisingly) smugness. “Damian Wayne, are you _jealous_?” A smirk wormed its way to her lips as Damian’s brain short circuited, supplying only the thoughts of ‘Danger’, and ‘That’s…kinda _hot_ ’. However, his face remained stoic as ever out of sheer muscle memory.

“I am absolutely not jealous about whatever little thing you and Jon have got going on. It just annoys me that I have to spend my lunch watching you two make googly eyes at each other and clinging to whatever body part you can.”

A flash of hurt across her face was all it took for Damian to want to hit himself for being an idiot. “No, wait, I didn’t mean-”

“Then, you probably don’t _mean_ that if the situation was reversed you wouldn’t mind it if it was you clinging to me?” ‘ _Wait what_.’ Damian was left reeling in an uncharacteristic manner while Marinette looked like she was about to hit him. “Tell me Dami, would you still be complaining if you were the one that got to hug me?”

Despite the bravado display on the outside, she was positively terrified on the inside. What if he really was just annoyed at her hogging his best friend all to herself? If she went through with her plan and messed it up… There would be hell to pay. But, she wasn’t willing to back off now, and she held onto whatever confidence she had left.

Hearing a mumbled _**no**_ fall from his lips made her incredibly relieved and made her giggle. “Are you laughing at me, Dupain-Cheng?” His remark only made her giggle more as she looked at his rosy cheeks. That was new.

“Maybe” she chuckled. “I only wish you had told me before, it might not have taken me so long to do this.”

Damian had a grand total of 0.5 seconds to register how Marinette stood on her toes, reaching to cup his face and gently pressing her lips to his. Once he did, though, his possessive side appeared. He pulled the girl closer by the waist and pressing their foreheads together the moment they had to break the kiss to breathe. The boy knew the nagging in the back of his mind wouldn’t cease until he cleared his doubts, so he stared into Marinette’s eyes as he asked. “Are you sure there’s nothing going on between you and Jon?”

She looked extremely amused at this. “100% He’s just a very good _friend_ to me, almost like a brother. Now, _you_ on the other hand…” She just had to blush and avert her eyes, didn’t she? As if the overload of cute would help Damian organize his jumbled thoughts.

When the duo came back down from the roof, lunch had finished, as well as the class they were supposed to attend after it. Jon was waiting for them next to the doors with the biggest grin he could muster. “You’re very welcome you two. Now I’ll be happy to accept ice cream, and an invitation to your wedding as payback, if you don’t mind.”


	2. Day 2: Blind Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made the best of my free day, and thus this baby was born. I don't plan on making any other updates nearly as long as this one, but I might just use the storyline for other prompts. Hope you enjoy the read!

Damian's calculating eyes were scanning his surroundings. If he could manage to get to the bottom of the stairs without being spotted, then slipping through the back door would be a piece of cake. He mentally tallied the obstacles he was more likely to encounter in the way: Alfred, Jason, and Tim. Those were the main threats to his plan of sneaking out of the manor. 

Tim would be easy enough to avoid. Caffeine-deprived as he currently was, he was likely to be unable to pay attention to anything. If Alfred happened to find him, he would probably ask where he was headed. Damian knew being honest was the best approach with the butler. As long as he asked for it to be a secret, he knew the man would respect his wishes for some time, or at least until the youngest Wayne deemed he wanted to share about this meeting with his family. 

Now Jason… He was a real threat. No amount of honesty or dumb distraction could fool him easily, and he was also the most likely to rat him out to everyone before he could even set a foot outside tonight. The green-eyed boy knew he could have just requested help from Alfred, but that really wasn't his style, and he risked his father finding out his plan before he was able to execute it. 

Unlocking his phone, Damian checked the mansion’s cameras to make mental note of where everyone was. It seemed like almost everyone was gathered in the living room. _Perfect_. Now he had 30 seconds to act on this knowledge before having to check on them again. 

With a swiftness that would make his tutors proud, he slid downstairs silently and maneuvered his way through the shadows. In the blink of an eye, he had reached the kitchen. 

Too bad it had taken him 31 seconds. 

"Just where do you think you're going Demon Spawn?" Jason's tone let Damian know he was smirking, even if he hadn't bothered to turn around and check. Though, if he had, he would've seen it morph into a wicked grin. He might have even been able to avoid what came next. 

In one quick movement, his older brother had charged into him, picking him up and hurrying back to the living room with him on his shoulders. 

"Look who was trying to sneak out of the house." Jason put down his little brother before he could try to murder him, and stood back with a triumphant look. 

His older brother had been the only one to move from the position he had seen them in when he first checked the cameras. Which meant the whole family was there. And all their eyes fell on him as conversation died down. His mind was already going through possible excuses and escape routes when it suddenly dawned on him. Some of the best detectives in the world were sitting right there. 

He cursed himself silently for putting extra attention on how he looked today. He supposed it had been a good idea at the moment, though, wanting to look good. He was taking Marinette to dinner for the first time to a fancy restaurant, and despite what his brothers seemed to think, he had decency and manners, of course he was going to dress up.

In this particular moment, however, it looked like the stupidest idea he had ever come up with. There was no way they would believe his little rendezvous at this hour had anything to do with buying groceries or going to Jon’s house. That didn’t mean Damian wasn’t going to try and get out of this as slyly as possible.

"You're going out?" Dick was the first one to try and break the ice, gaining him a harsh glare. He might be the one that tried to make amends between Damian and the others, but the younger was set on his ways right now, and wouldn’t budge.

"Yes."

‘ _Oh, so you want to play hard kid? Alright. Then so be it_ ’ Richard mustered up the best imitation of a Jason face he could. "Really? And where are you going?"

"Out."

He tried to suppress a snort but utterly failed, which meant it was Bruce's turn to lead the interrogation. "You can't just go wherever you want at this hour without at least telling us where you're headed. You're not an adult yet."

Damian sighed. He knew there was no point in trying to argue here, and the longer he tried to defy them, the more time he would waste that he could use in Marinette’s presence. "I’ll be 18 in like a month. But fine. If you must know, I'm going to have dinner with someone at Infantino's, in the fashion district. Can I go now?"

"Who are you having dinner with? That restaurant isn't exactly a place where you go with friends." Jason knew he was playing with fire, but even then, burning himself would be worth it just for the face Damian had just pulled. "Do you maybe have a _date_ Baby Bird?"

"I'm meeting…” He wasn’t willing to give up any specifics to his family just like that. They would have a file ready in less than five minutes on her. His brain discarded a bunch of ideas until it found one so stupid it might just work. “My blind date. I’m meeting my blind date." 

If anyone noticed the sliver of amusement that replaced the frustration for his nosy family for an instant, they didn't mention it. They were too busy gaping at him like a bunch of bug catchers. Good thing Jason’s pea-sized brain seemed to need less time to recover than the others’.

"No fucking way."

Next was Bruce.

"Language-"

"Damian actually has a date? With a human being?" Jason scoffed at the same time Tim chimed in with a "Well he did say it was a blind date, the poor girl. Probably doesn't know any better."

Just when Damian had started to take a liking to him.

"Okay, fuck you, Drake. Now that you all know where I'm going, I'm leaving." Not giving them enough time to react, he grabbed a coat and slipped outside towards his car. Checking his phone he noticed he still had some time to spare, thankfully. And so he started the engine, making his way towards Marinette's house.

-

The moment the batfam heard the door close after Damian, all hell broke loose. Several of them tried to speak at the same time, causing such a ruckus Dick had to resort to whistling loudly as a means of shutting them up. "Alright. That’s it. We’re not letting the kid play us like goddamn pawns. Tim, Barbs, and Steph go to the Batcave, track Damian so we can follow him.. Jason and Cass come with me, we're on field duty. We’re leaving from the cave in five."

Everyone turned into vigilante mode immediately and nodded. Taking that as his cue, he went to change into his suit as quickly as possible. His little brother wasn't about to get rid of them so easily. 

Half an hour later, the three of them were perched on the ledge of a building, across which Damian was leaning on his car waiting for whoever his date was. Jason was muttering to himself about how unfair life was, while Cass tapped her nails against the concrete. "Whoever this girl is must be pretty important if Damian is still waiting for her. He's usually an impatient little shit"

Tim's voice rang in their comms. "I’ll answer that. Marinette Dupain-Cheng. 18 years old. French. Moved to Gotham a year and a half ago with a scholarship for university. Parents have a bakery in Paris. Oh and she's-"

Before he could finish speaking, though, the door of the house in front of which Damian had been waiting opened. Out came a dark-haired girl wearing a beautiful A-line pink dress and ballet flats with a black blazer on top. A fluffy golden-haired dog stood guard at her side. 

"She's blind." Cass was the first to come to the conclusion as they saw their brother walk up the steps to her door with the brightest smile any of them had ever seen on his face. 

-

"Hey, Angel. Hi Tikki." Damian saw her face light up when she recognized his voice, and his heart melted at the sight. He silently promised he would sneak and evade his family however many times necessary if he got to see this girl.

"Dami! I'm so sorry I took so long, I was baking some cookies for tomorrow and I lost track of time." Marinette tentatively reached for his arm, which he happily offered before helping her to his car. "Don't worry Nette, I didn't wait long anyway. And I know how concentrated you can get when you're baking."

Once he secured her seatbelt, he helped Tikki get on the back of the car, who rewarded him with a lick to the face. "Good to see you too buddy." 

"At this point, I’m pretty sure she likes you more than she likes me." The bluenette giggled as Damian reached to hold her hand. "Now where are you taking me today? We always eat takeout because you don’t like going out, and suddenly you’re taking me out for dinner telling me to dress nicely. What’s the special occasion, mon oiseau?" 

Oh, she had done it. Marinette pulled out the nickname she used to make Damian comply with absolutely everything she wanted him to. He felt bad for denying her request, but at least for tonight, he wanted to surprise her. And he might as well tease her about it not working. "Guess you'll have to wait and _see it for yourself_." 

"Don't start a war you can't win Wayne. You know I will obliterate you no matter how cute I think you are." Despite trying her best to look menacing, Mari didn't seem to be succeeding with the way her boyfriend was snickering. "Oh yeah, you just keep laughing." She put on a fake pout and turned her body towards the door. She knew there was only so much teasing he was willing to dish out.

"Oh, please don't be like that Angel."

"Talk to the hand." She slid her hand out of his, putting it in the air in between them, pretending to be mad. Unfortunately for her, Damian knew just what buttons to press for her to give in. 

"Nette… " She could feel the smile on his face as he grabbed her hand, gently kissing her knuckles and rings one by one. 

"That's cheating" she whined, turning to him once more. "You know I love it when you do that."

"Of course I know. And as for where we're going tonight, it's a surprise. I can promise you you'll like it, but that’s all I’m willing to give away." 

And just like that, they were off to dinner. Damian's hand never leaving Marinette's unless absolutely necessary. 

-

Turned out the boy was right. Marinette was simply enamored of the restaurant he had taken her to. All the Italian cooking smelled divine, bringing her memories of numerous meals shared with her grandma when she was younger. On top of that, she was delighted with the sounds provided by some musicians appointed on a far corner of the big room. All the strings he had had to pull to get them a reservation on such short notice were totally worth it when he glanced at the wonder etched on his Angel's face. 

"I can take it your expression means you like it here?" He rubbed circles on the back of her hand, looking across the table at her with a soft smile. 

"Like it? Damian, I love it so much." There it was. The smile that could outshine the sun. And at that moment, it was all his. 

-

Jason was about to pop a vein in disbelief. Meanwhile, Cass, Dick, and the rest of the bat siblings sported expressions ranging from pleasantly surprised, to absolute glee, to pride for their little brother.

"They're so cute! And she's making our Damian smile so much. We have to find a way to meet her!" Barbara had gained them access to the surveillance cameras inside the restaurant and was currently squealing in the comms. "I wonder how none of us noticed this before, though. This doesn't seem to be the first time they're meeting each other." 

Tim, who had taken been keeping busy doing more research into the girl, apparently had the answer yet again. "They’ve been meeting for around a year, shortly after Marinette started living here. And they've been dating for around 5 months."

The comms were eerily quiet until Jason decided to take one for the team. "How on Earth do you know that Timmy?"

"Psh, Damian must have thought he couldn't be caught, because he didn't put any special encryption on his messages to her nor on his phone. Piece of cake really. And by the looks of it, they’re every bit as disgustingly cute while messaging too."

After that there was silence. A non-verbal agreement between the siblings that they all remembered why Tim was one of the most feared members of their family.

"Now, if you're all quite done with that, can we discuss something? Will you guys stay there? You already know who he's meeting and why. Is it really necessary to tail him the whole night?"

Cass, Dick, and Jason exchanged looks. "Only if you can get Demon Spawn to agree to bring her home for dinner." 

"Do you think I'm some kind of miracle worker or what?” Tim snorted. But apparently, that qualified as an agreement, seeing as how he kept quiet for a couple of minutes. “Of course I’m the one that has to suffer his wrath for thi- Oh, he said yes. That was easier than I thought.”

Barbara and Steph were heard cheering in the background. Dick nodded to Jason with a ‘ _not bad_ ’ expression.

“Don’t be so happy, though. You guys might want to sleep with one eye open tonight. He now knows you were following them."

Another beat of silence.

"Dammit Drake."

-

Inside the restaurant, the youngest Wayne was really trying to control the urge to go outside and rip his siblings a new one. He would have failed had he not been set in making the evening the best for Marinette. He was only willing to let it go for now because Tim assured him they’d fuck off if he invited his girlfriend over for dinner at the manor. She had already mentioned wanting to meet his family once or twice, and she readily accepted when he asked her opinion, which was probably the only reason he didn't fuss too much over the request. 

"I can hear the cogs in your brain all the way from here Dames. What has got you thinking so much?" She carefully reached for him with a soft smile, the kind she knew would make him spill. 

"You know I'm always thinking about you, Angel." He chuckled and laced their fingers on top of the table. "Actually I wanted to ask you something. If you're not too full after dinner, would you like to take a walk with me?"

"I'd love to Dami." She smiled and pulled back her hand before digging into her plate. 

Dinner was smooth sailing from there, and Damian was very pleased to see no traces of his dumbass family when they stepped outside. He guided her towards Miller Harbor while thanking the skies that it was one of the last nice autumnal nights, with winter approaching at an alarming speed. There weren't many people in this area at the moment, so the animated voices of the two teens were the only thing the wind could carry away. Being so engrossed in conversation, however, meant Damian wasn't as ready as he usually was to catch Marinette when she tripped. He still managed to, but her purse fell to the floor, scattering its contents everywhere. 

"I'm so sorry Angel, are you okay?" He bent down to pick up her things, but, in his hurry, he didn't notice the emergency sewing kit Mari always carried with her had opened. He then pricked his hand with a couple of needles that were sticking from the side. 

"Dami? What happened?" She heard the yelp he emitted and gave a relieved sigh when, a second later, her purse was back in her hands with a chuckle from him.

"Your needles fell off and thought it would be nice to stab my hand, nothing big though"

"Oh no, _can I see_?"

He unconsciously showed her his hand. "It's really nothing, it was more because of the surprise than anything." He frowned at her. "Why are you laughi- You're mean!"

Marinette took an extra second to compose herself. But even as she grabbed Damian's hand and kissed the palm, she was quietly snickering. "Can't believe you fell for that one."

With a scoff, he took her hand in his and resumed their walking, somewhat glad that she couldn't see his burning cheeks. "Yeah yeah, can't say I _saw it coming_ , Nette."

"Boo! Terrible joke, even worse execution. And here I thought you had learned something from me." She tried to imitate his scoff unsuccessfully, and she just knew he was grinning like an idiot at her.

"Now, now, you're just _turning a blind eye_ to my greatness. Admit you like my jokes Angel."

"I don't really _see the point_ in lying, I'm doing you a favor Dames" She giggled and flickered his nose playfully. "Besides, if you don't like my criticism you can leave, I'm sure you'll soon catch someone else's eye." Marinette waved a dismissive hand towards him. 

"But you'd miss out on my beautiful face, I couldn't do that to you."

"Oh, I'll get over it. What the eyes can’t see, the heart doesn’t feel and all that, you know the gist." She felt Damian wrap his arms around her waist at that and smiled. He always got clingy whenever she started bantering with him. 

"Well, too bad Angel. You see, I have no intention of leaving you unless you make me. Will you really make me?"

"Hmm… Maybe I can reconsider. After all, you do light up my life, even if it's mostly black these days." 

He knew she meant it as a lighthearted comment, but damn if the way her tone dipped and softened at the very end didn't do things to his heart. Damian stole nothing more than a quick glance to her face but immediately took it upon himself to commit the image to memory. His Marinette was a beauty to behold in all her glory, with rosy cheeks and soft skin glowing under the streetlight they were standing under. He couldn’t help but look into her eyes. Formerly blue, now almost completely overcome by white, he believed that they were still as beautiful as in those photos she had shown him one day. He would never be able to say it out loud, least of all to his Angel, but he did sometimes wish those eyes could have been able to see him. Damian knew it was selfish, and he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he added one more thing to feel guilty about to the gigantic list the tiny girl already carried everywhere with her, deep inside her heart. 

Thinking about these things made him reminisce of the first days of friendship with Marinette. They had quickly hit it off when she transferred to Gotham Academy all those months ago. The youngest Wayne had a reputation for being the coldest and meanest student, but what can you do when the embodiment of the literal sun takes it upon themselves to befriend you? Whatever walls Damian had built after 10 years in the League of Assassins (and meticulously keeping them up for an extra 6 years) had come crumbling down like they were made of dry sand. Yet what a lot of people didn’t realize was, just as well as the boy had his guards, Marinette had hers. And, much in the same manner the girl had managed to tear his down, he had pretty much vaporized the fragile glass with which she had attempted to protect herself from the cruelty of the world. Thus a very unexpected friendship was born.

She had told him all about the accident two years ago. He had told her about his upbringing with a strict mother and an even stricter grandfather (though he did omit some details). They got to know each other like the back of their hand, the passing weeks bringing them closer and closer. He was the one to stay on the phone with her on nights where haunting nightmares didn't let her sleep. She was his shoulder to cry on after a particularly bad fight with Jon or one of his brothers, fights where he let negative emotions get the better of him. The two learned to communicate without words, to know what the other needed without having to ask. 

But the most important thing was that they found a home on each other. And that home brought them hope. Hope that maybe things could finally get better again. They weren’t broken yet, and together they were ready to face whatever obstacles stood between them and happiness at last.

Only then did Damian notice where he was. Back at the pier, with a worried looking Marinette caressing his cheek. "Dami? Is everything okay? Did I say something wrong?"

The doubt he could hear on her voice could almost amuse him if he didn’t know where it originated from. This adorable human being had turned his world upside down, given him something so precious no one else would’ve dared to, and she was doubting herself to be enough because someone had dared to say so. He was suddenly feeling a little bit more murderous.

"Not at all Angel, I was just thinking of how lucky I am to have you with me. I don’t know what I’d do if I ever lost you." Pleased to see the blush spread on her cheeks, he kissed her temple hugging her close.

"You can't just say that!" she whined embarrassed.

"Well, I just did." With a kiss to her nose, Damian pulled away and started walking again along the pier, not wanting to embarrass her further, but definitely not letting go of the hand that felt so nice and warm in his.

Both kept quiet for some time until Marinette gathered up enough courage to break the comfortable silence they had established. 

"Hearing the water is very calming, it's been some time since I got to. The city is always so busy, you barely get a glimpse of it before it gets lost in all the noise." She traced circles on the back of Damian's hand with a smile on her face, Tikki still walking with them along the Harbor. "Thanks for taking me out today, mon petit oiseau." Marinette paused for a moment, reaching up to caress his cheek with a loving smile. "I don't think I thank you enough for what you do for me."

"I appreciate it Nette, but know that I don't need you to. I would do just about everything for you Habibti.” She blinked in confusion but waited patiently until he was ready to continue. “It means beloved. You're my beloved, and I'll be here for you for as long as you need me. Even if one day you decide I'm just not for you, I'll still be there for you. Always." He kissed their joined hands. 

"You're terrible you know that? You actually made me cry." She laughed with tears in her eyes. "I love you, Damian, and I'm so, so glad I met you when I did. You found me when I was, quite literally, in my darkest moments, and instead of choosing an easier path you stuck with me. I will never be able to express just how much you mean to me.” The wet tracks on her cheeks did nothing to dim her smile, though they did make Damian’s eyes tear up.

“I love you too, Angel. I’m the luckiest person on Earth and whenever I’m with you I can certainly say I’m the happiest too.” Sensing that, given the chance, he would keep on singing her praises for however long he was allowed to, Marinette finally took matters into her own hands and planted her lips firmly against his, muscle memory ensuring she wouldn’t miss her target. 

To any onlooker, it might have been hard to tell where one body ended and the other started, but the lover’s duo couldn’t find it in themselves to care. For at that moment, they were essentially one.

-

They did pull away after some time though, both gasping for air and giggling like the teenagers they were. Seeing her like that made Damian think of a devious idea.

“Nette…” He kneeled in front of her, careful to look up to catch her reaction. He waited a couple of seconds before standing again trying to keep his laughter at bay. “Sorry, had to tie my shoe. I was gonna ask if you wanted me to take you back to your apartment since it’s pretty late.”

While all of that happened, Marinette’s face had gone from confused, to panicked, to angry, to embarrassed. And right now she looked like she wanted to (rightfully) whoop his ass. “Damian Wayne! That wasn’t funny you moron!” She did hit his chest playfully a couple of times while toning down her whining to a mumbling. “You scared me you idiot:”

“Aw, come on Habibti, it _was_ funny. You’re just mad you fell for it. Plus, you know I wouldn’t dare propose to you in such an insipid manner. Do you really believe I could _blindside_ you like that?” The pun earned him another hit to the chest as they laughed in unison.

A promise to stop the bad jokes later, they were back to sharing tender kisses, the moon being the only witness to their love.

Or maybe not.

None of them could have possibly known that, back in the Batcave, seven pairs of eyes looked earnestly at them through a camera on the side of the building next to them. 

"Well, as much as I hate to admit it, Demon Spawn's got game."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you made it all the way down here, thank you for reading! I would love to hear your thoughts on it. See you tomorrow! <3


	3. Day 3: Decorating

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning for this chapter: Major Character Death.  
> Now that that’s cleared, I want to apologize in advance for any sadness this can cause. I just couldn’t help it. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy your read as always!

Decorating any type of thing had never been Damian's forte, but he tended to become particularly grumpy about it around the time the holidays rolled around. 

During the time he spent under the supervision of his mother and grandfather, holiday decorating was sparse, if there even was any at all. He couldn't say he was mad about the lack of spirit, however. Normal people liked to believe that there was something special about the season, with their holier-than-thou attitude and preaching hope and happiness wherever they went. Damian found them annoying and was more than glad his family didn't engage in such  _ festivities _ . 

When he arrived at Wayne Manor, though, he wasn't ready for how different things were handled. Being introduced to the family a few days before his birthday meant half of December had already gone by, which in turn meant that the holiday craze was on its peak point.

' _ Disgusting _ .' The boy scowled around at the menagerie of trinkets and garlands hanging everywhere he could see. Was that mistletoe on that door frame? Why would you bring a tree inside, only to put stupid colorful balls and a star on it? He was pretty tempted to go back to his mother and her strict training. Anything sounded better than staying in the mansion from hell, with these savages and their awfully cheerful spirits for the month. 

Bruce never allowed him to do that, however, so the only thing Damian could do was learn how to at least tolerate it. 

It was surprisingly less difficult than they originally planned, even if it took the family several years to completely warm him up. They learned presents were a great incentive. His siblings knew perfectly well that, was Bruce to find out they were gifting him with weapons and strange books (which contained incredibly inappropriate things for a 12-year-old), there would be hell to pay. But hey, at least the kid seemed to appreciate them. Hopefully, he liked the gifts enough to keep quiet about it and not plan any murders.

By the time he was 16, the holiday season was not such a burden anymore. Like, sure, Damian still hated carols, and those cheesy Christmas movies his family used to watch all huddled together on the sofa. But, as Jon liked to remind him, that's not what the holidays were supposed to be about. 

That same year, his friend introduced him to Marinette. She was in Gotham on a trip with her class, and since Jon was a fan of just befriending adorable people, he made it their new mission to do so with her. Not that it was hard, mind you. When the tiny girl learned that Damian could speak French as well as he could English, her face lit up. Much to Jon's dismay and surprise, quick responses to whatever the hell Marinette was saying kept falling from his best friend's lips. And thus a friendship was born. 

It was sad when, a month later, they had to go to the airport together to say their goodbyes. She promised to keep in contact with both of them, before waving as the duo saw her disappear inside the plane. 

For two years, they kept close contact. Damian used every opportunity he had to hop on a plane to visit his friend in Paris. As the nineteen-year-old touched ground in France's capital, that frizzy December morning, it was with determination on his heart. There was no beating around the bush anymore. He was going to confess to Marinette. Even if she didn't like him that way, it would have been fine. He would never stop visiting or being her friend because she rejected his feelings. That was something cowards did, and Damian Wayne was a lot of things, but never a coward. He, however, turned out to be one of the lucky ones whose feelings were reciprocated by the one they loved. That night, standing next to the Seine, Marinette had said she liked him too. Damian couldn't be more excited about starting a new chapter of his life, with her by his side. 

More holidays came and went. Mari accepted a scholarship to a university in Gotham for designing, and now the couple was living together. They got a very nice apartment in the middle of the city, close to both the university campus and Wayne Tower, where Damian had started to help out Tim in the family business.

His Angel couldn’t have been more excited when he offered to take her shopping so they could decorate their new home. And he honestly didn’t feel the need to complain even 5 hours into skipping from store to store, arms full of bags. 

Once they got back, they immediately put their hands to work. He still hated Christmas carols, but maybe, just maybe, seeing the woman he loved hanging stupid and colorful ornaments on their tree while humming, made him hate them a bit less. 

The lovebirds adopted a routine and executed it to a T multiple times over the upcoming years. Marinette took care of the tree while Damian went around hanging those dumb garlands that he now kinda liked. They reminded him of his Angel teasing him while pretending it was a feathered boa. It had been a hilarious sight. His absolute favorite thing to do was to call his beloved to him, only for her to step under the mistletoe he had just put up. She would always roll her eyes at his stupid demeanor before kissing him senseless. No matter how many times he did that, Marinette would humor him. And once they pulled away, she would always have a smile ready for him. The kind of smile that could blind you if you looked at it too hard.

The kind of smile that could easily light up an entire room.

The kind of smile that made Damian wish it had been him that fateful night. 

The world hadn’t deserved to lose her. And she hadn’t deserved to go.

God, he missed her so much.

-

Most of what he had on his mind about the incident was a patchwork of other people’s memories. His own memories didn’t manage to survive the shutdown that overcame him when his brothers showed up at his door, all of them sporting pained and scared expressions. It was a cold and dark evening in Gotham, most people having already retreated into the warmth of their homes. Marinette hadn’t. The only thing he could clearly remember from earlier that night was seeing the snow slowly fall outside as he waited for his Angel to come back from her dinner with Chloé.

A drunk driver, they had told him. The man fell asleep in front of the wheel and drove straight onto the sidewalk where she was standing, waiting idly for her blonde friend to come back with their hot chocolate.

Damian had lost a part of himself that day. Those who were close to him worriedly wondered if he would ever be able to heal from it.

They hadn’t had the time to start decorating yet that year. 

Despite his family’s best efforts, he completely secluded himself. The boxes full of Christmas spirit were waiting in the middle of the living room for the young couple to break into them yet again. Ready for another holiday season of making new memories, as well as remembering the old ones. They stayed right there. Unopened. Inside the empty apartment Damian hadn’t dared step into after that night. His father had insisted on having him stay with them, and he had no energy to even try and fight it. In his numbness, he ignored everything that happened the following month. 

Bruce had someone clean the apartment regularly, but leaving it untouched otherwise. Marinette’s family took care of the very private funeral they held, agreeing to have her stay in Gotham where she had decided to spend her life. Damian had attended, he was sure of it, they said they had dragged him along. However, he sometimes still doubted the image of her in a white gown, laying there on a casket, was real. His beloved had looked beautiful even then.

The following year was not easy. Ten years with Marinette had gone by in the blink of an eye. One could argue it was a lot of time, but for the 26-year-old Damian, it hadn’t been nearly enough with his Habibti by his side. She was his anchor in the stormy sea that was his mind. He had been her sword and shield whenever something or someone made her doubt herself. 

That was all gone now. 

No anchor.

No one to support.

He was on his own.

But slowly but surely, his stubborn nature surfaced. And had decided that it was enough. It refused to let Damian wither away. Not willing to throw away everything the woman he loved had worked so hard on. Marinette had made him want to be a better person, and he was not going to dishonor her in that.

That’s how that December afternoon had found him standing in the middle of their living room. Having a staring contest with a giant tree.

Even if it had taken him longer than in previous years, he had managed to put up all the usual house decorations. Although he couldn’t help but feel the mistletoes were mocking him whenever he walked under them and there wasn’t a smile, or a roll of the eyes, or a kiss for him. After some hours, the only thing left to decorate was the tree. But there was no Marinette to decorate it. Which left just Damian to complete the job.

One by one, the ornaments his fiancee had picked with the utmost care all those years ago were hung on the branches. At the time, Marinette had said they were a promise. For as long as they had each other, they could have these as a reminder of all the good moments. She had made it her mission to, no matter where they went on holiday, or if they were just celebrating a special occasion, buy a little ornament for their tree. It had stuck with them. Birthdays, anniversaries, promotions, important moments. They all had their commemoratory trinkets.

It took him some minutes to gather his thoughts and himself together, but he did eventually start. With every little decoration he put up, he began to feel his heart become lighter and lighter as he relived the memories they each carried. Memories of the great times they had spent together. Having finished with those, wrapping up the tree with lights proved to be the easiest task he had taken on so far, they were just lights. But now he had to finally face the most challenging part: the star. 

Damian didn’t know how much time he just stood there, twirling the silver star in his hands. He reminisced about how every year, whenever it was time to finish with the tree, Marinette would seek him out happily. She used to drag him along and wait for him to hoist her up by the waist so she could finally wrap up her work. He always teased his Angel about not being able to do it herself, since she had indeed been the one to pick the tallest tree for their house.

Thinking of her brought a sad smile to his face, as well as some resolve to his brain at last. A moment later, the star was standing tall and proud in its place, looking down at him.

“There you go, Habibti. It’s done.”

Tears welled up in his eyes as he smiled at the photo he had previously balanced in between the branches. A photo of them on their last Christmas together under the tree on the morning of the 25th. 

He was still sad. 

He still missed her with every fiber of his being. 

But, as he glanced into those beautiful blue eyes he loved so much, Damian could finally feel how the weight that had found home on his chest for the past year alleviated, leaving nothing but a dull ache in its place. 

He took it as a sign, and hope bloomed in his heart. 

May Marinette remember him wherever she was, because he was sure he always going to remember her. And with a last look at the picture in his hands, he finally knew.

He was going to be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there it is! Day 3 is done! Thank you all so much for reading and leaving so many lovely comments, both here and on Tumblr. I cannot explain just how happy those make me <3 Hopefully I will have enough time to write at least something tiny for day 4, so see you tomorrow!


	4. Day 4: Gaming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! I have a bit of a shorter one for today, I hope you can forgive me for that. But at least it has no angst this time :D Hope you enjoy it!

You could have heard a pin drop in the living room of the Wayne Manor. Four pairs of calculating eyes were stealing glances at each other. No one dared breathe.

Slowly but surely, Marinette reached to throw the dice. She rolled a 7.

“Lucky number Bug, but even that can’t save you now. Your reign of terror will fall at last.” Jason couldn’t help but smirk. The time had finally come for the newest addition to their family to lose after an impressive winning streak of 36 Monopoly matches. Tim and Dick had similar expressions to his. They had all fought tooth and nail, forming alliances to bring down the evil that was Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

They didn’t care who won the game, as long as it wasn’t her.

“Let’s hope you don’t have to eat your words, Todd.” Damian had a smirk on his face as he snaked an arm around his girlfriend’s waist. “You know my Angel doesn’t lose.” He had been getting such a kick out of seeing her beat his brothers’ asses again and again at their biweekly game night, it felt like his birthday was twice a week. 

“Don’t distract me Dami, I’m trying to think here.” Her words had no bite to them, and she gave him a peck before going back to hard staring at the board. A second later her face lit up and she squealed gleefully. “Look!” She leaned against his side to whisper her strategy in his ear.

Damian then looked at his brothers with a deadpan expression. “I feel incredibly sorry for you.”

And rightfully so.

Half an hour later, after a long tirade of lucky shots, clever moves, and encouraging kisses from her boyfriend, the game was concluded. Of every little plastic building, either orange, blue, or green, that had been standing on the board, none were left. The three adults in the room were left gaping as Marinette had managed to weasel out of the corner where they had backed her up against, and proceeded to drive them to bankruptcy, forcing them to sell everything they had to pay their loans to her, eventually obliterating them for the 37th time in a row. Tim seemed to be muttering stuff about her being better at his job than him, but they couldn’t really be sure. Jason was a hair's width away from flipping the table. Dick was simply pouting in defeat. 

With a cheer of victory, she got up from the sofa and held out his hand to Damian. “Shall we go, mon petit oiseau? I don’t think they’re going to recover from that any time soon.” She giggled as he held her hand only after taking a picture of his older brothers looking in disbelief at the Monopoly board. “I think you broke them, love.”

“Hm, well. They had it coming to them. No one ever beats Marinette Dupain-Cheng at Monopoly.”

“That’s why I stopped trying after the 5th time, Angel. It’s much better seeing it unfold when you’re not the one being crushed.” Damian kissed her knuckles with an amused smile. “Do you think they’ll try again? One would think they’d want to stop volunteering to be humiliated.”

Mari shrugged while he led them back to his room. “Hopefully not, it’s honestly getting a bit boring. Now, I believe you had said something about trying to beat me at UMS III again?”

He froze in his tracks and looked at her in fear. 

“Nope. No idea what you’re talking about. I just want to go to bed and cuddle you.” The young man slipped into his room quickly, leaving her to snicker to herself before following him.

“Shame. Maybe the 264th time would have been the charm.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all for today folks! Now, I will try to update normally the rest of the week, but as I have nothing pre-written and just write each prompt the day before I post it, I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep up the rhythm. I have an exam on Monday for which I really have to study, and will write in whatever hours I have left. That said, I will try to put out at least 200 words every day! Thank you for reading!


	5. Day 5: Fire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who wanted a bit more of backstory, this is a continuation of Day 2! It can also be read on its own. There is mention of a car accident near the middle but it's nothing too explicit or long. Enjoy your read!

Marinette had always loved fire. Dangerous as it was, what with being able to consume entire rooms in seconds or entire forests in very few hours when it wasn’t controlled, it brought good memories to her. 

When she was a child, her parents used to take her camping during the summer holidays. They would close down the bakery for a week and camp out in the countryside. She would help her papa collect materials to make a campfire, making a circle with rocks, and piling the logs, sticks, and pinecones they had found in the middle of it. Her favorite part was always seeing it lit up. The blue and orange flames hypnotized her, the crackling sound of burning wood lulling her into a calm state. After they finished setting it up, the three of them would sit in front of it at night and sing happily, her dad occasionally adding more wood. They did that until it was time to have dinner or go to bed.

Marinette had fond memories of those times. 

She also associated fire with the smell of home. The giant oven where her parents cooked the bread every morning made its wonderful smell spread throughout the whole building, and she loved it when they let her look at it while it was being cooked. The little girl simply found herself drawn in by the intricate patterns of the fire, even if trying to commit them to memory was futile, as they kept disappearing into thin air before she could. 

One of the first dresses she had designed, when she was 12 years old, had been a homage to this particular aspect of her childhood. A beautiful gown with several tulle layers that tried to emulate the color range of the flames. Reds and oranges and yellows with very delicate touches of blue made up the skirt, while the top was a deep red corset with an asymmetric neckline. Young Mari had been very proud, and had made that dress as soon as she had been able to save up money to buy the materials she needed.

These were some of the main reasons why Marinette liked fire so much. 

But it’s well known that an innumerable amount of good can always meet its demise in the hands of one single bad thing. 

No matter how many compliments you receive on your outfit for the day, the one mean comment from that person that doesn’t like you will be the one to stick with you.

You can do several good deeds and favors to people. They will always resent the one time you couldn’t help them.

No matter how many good memories you associate with something, how pure the feelings you attach to it are. One bad experience will bring it crashing down.

And crash it did.

The smell of singed flesh and smoke was making Marinette dizzy. She couldn’t see anything but she could hear screams and calls for help. Was that her maman? She wasn’t able to tell. Where was her papa? He had been driving when a car derailed from the next lane over, colliding straight into the side of their car where Marinette was leaning against the window. 

Her body was screaming at her to move, to get away from the intense heat surrounding her, yet it hadn’t been able to. 

Mari thought she could hear someone calling for her, telling her to hang in there. She was trying her best, but the smoke was filling her lungs and she could feel the agonizing pain from her burnt skin. Turned out, trying her best wasn’t nearly enough, and the girl lost consciousness not long after.

Only to immediately wake up again with a scream.

Breathing heavily she tried to move her hands around to check where she was and started panicking a little when she couldn’t. She noticed something was holding her down and tried to squirm her way out of it.

“Shh, Angel. It’s okay, it’s just me.”

That voice made Marinette quickly snap back to reality. The something now felt like two very familiar strong arms, and they were gently holding her close in a tight hug.

“Damian…” She finally breathed out and relaxed against him, letting the warmth of his body seep into hers. “I’m sorry, did I wake you up?”

“Yes, but it doesn’t matter. It’s only 2, and you know I wouldn’t let you wake up from one of those nightmares alone.” Her boyfriend was trying to soothe her by running his fingers through his hair. “Was it the same one again?”

Marinette weakly nodded, still burrowing her face on his chest. Her little birdie smelled like home, a mix of his cologne and the baked treats Mari gifted him with every day. She knew she was safe with him.

Damian hated seeing his love like this, terrified and curled in on herself. It made him feel small and useless. Even if living together now let him be there for her every night, helping her settle back down and fall asleep again, he was powerless against the nightmares. They would keep on coming no matter what they tried to do. Provided, they had become much less frequent after she had agreed to start seeing a therapist (she had smacked him with a wooden spoon when he tried suggesting it that way, perhaps he shouldn’t have snickered), but they hadn’t been completely eradicated.

“Stop that. " Marinette could almost hear all of his thoughts spiraling down, as they always did whenever something happened that he couldn't fix. She felt slightly guilty about making her boyfriend so worried, but at least it wasn't as bad as it once was. Damian's reassurances that he didn't mind staying up with her whenever those awful dreams of hers didn't allow her to fall back asleep had managed to diminish the urges to bottle it up so she wouldn't bother him. 

Mari carefully cupped his face and used her fingers to ease the lines on his face. "If you keep frowning like that you'll get so many wrinkles before you're 25, birdy. It's not worth it."

"I was frowning 24/7 by the time I was 10, Angel. It's a little bit late for that." He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her waist, burrowing them further under the covers. Marinette had yet to let go of his face, but he knew what she was trying to do and closed his eyes. "Like what you see, Nette?"

As he received a rewarding giggle, the man felt himself completely relax under her delicate fingertips, her hands tracing the lines of his face in adoration. Mari would do this all the time after she found out it calmed him down. 

"Actually yes, even if my eyes have never been able to see you, my hands know you well. You know you're beautiful, mon petit oiseau. Have I not told you that enough?" She ran her fingers delicately over his lips before stealing a sweet kiss. "I love you Dami."

Marinette was aware that uttering those magic words usually made Damian forget about everything else and just focus on fighting her over who could give the other more affection. Lo and behold, this led to a war of kisses that had them rolling around in bed laughing. His favorite spot to leave kisses had always been her neck, and he enjoyed teasing her way too much. 

"That tickles! Ahhh, stop!" The giggles and whines echoed off the walls of their shared bedroom and Damian relented and let her go. Though not before kissing her once again on those lovely pink lips of hers. 

"Aww, you're no fun, Angel." He settled back under the covers while stroking her hair. 

"Don't think I forgot about what happened the last time you had too much fun, mister, Chloé said my neck looked like a murder scene and laughed for an hour before helping me fix it." 

"That wasn't my fault, You looked too beautiful and I couldn't resist." He pouted more out of habit than anything. Around the time they had started to become close, he had unknowingly started to mimic Marinette's expressions, at least until one of his brothers pointed it out, and now it just stuck with him. 

"Sure you were, you giant baby. I don't understand how anyone could think you're dangerous, you're a softie." 

Well, in all truth, she did know how. One of the reasons she loved it when they were alone was because he was so carefree then, he didn't have to cater to any kind of reputation. Damian didn't need to be Talia Al Ghul's son, or Bruce Wayne's son, or even Robin. He was just Damian. A guy a little bit rough around the edges, but devoted to Marinette in every way. Just as she was to him. 

"Only for you, Nette. Only for you."

Long forgotten were the nightmares and the fire in Marinette's mind, and as she snuggled closer to Damian's chest, letting his heartbeat lull her back to a (hopefully) peaceful sleep, the last thing she heard was a soft "I love you too Habibti. Always."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's my little contribution for today, hope you liked it! And to everyone commenting, know that I love you so so much! <3


	6. Day 6: Tree

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is very short and not beta-ed, I hope you can forgive me for it. Enjoy! <3

“I absolutely _cannot_ believe this. You’re a fucking superhero but can’t get down from a tree?”

“Oh yeah, say that any louder will you? I definitely want the whole park to find out about it Jay.” Marinette glared at him from her current position, perched on a branch at least 4 meters off the floor, the kitten in her arms secured against her chest. “Now help me down before they come back.”

“It might be a little too late for that Angel.” Damian walked closer to them with Dick in tow. They had left for some minutes to get some hot chocolate for the four of them, only to come back to this. “Mind explaining why and how you got up there?”

“I told her the kitty could come down whenever it wanted, but she decided to go help:” Jason was trying not to straight-up burst out laughing, lest Damian tried to hit him for making fun of his girlfriend. But damn if it wasn’t hilarious. The girl dangled from building to building using a motherfucking yo-yo every other day and she expected him to believe she couldn’t get down from a tree? “Come on pixie-pop, it can’t be that hard. Just jump.”

“Jason I swear if you keep on-” Her angry rant was interrupted by Damian passing the drinks onto his brother’s hands and standing directly under her.

“Jump, Angel, I’ll catch you.” He tried to convey as much reassurance as possible with his eyes. “You know I wouldn’t let you fall.”

The girl looked nervously around before looking at her boyfriend with pleading eyes. “Are you sure?” 

She would have preferred to just transform into Ladybug to get down, but as they were in the middle of a busy park, that was just not an option. One would think years of being Paris’ heroine would’ve helped her get over her fear of heights, but it’s a completely different thing to jump over the roofs when you have a magic suit protecting you. 

“Come on Nette, do you not trust me? I got you.”

“I do, I do…” She took a deep breath and edged closer to the abyss under her feet. “I’m going.” And then she let herself fall, bracing for an impact that never came.

“Oh, so you don’t trust me at all then!” Damian found hilarious the way she opened one eye to look at him guiltily. “You _actually_ thought I’d drop you, I’m wounded Habibti:” Her face as he put her down was a poem, red like a cherry, and he couldn’t help but kiss the top of her head with a chuckle. 

“Ew, I still think she swapped him with a clone or something. That can’t be our Damian. He’s _smiling_ and shit. We should-” Jason was cut off by a snowball hitting him square in the face, making Dick double with laughter.

“Mind your words, Todd.” His little brother had a murderous look in his eye. “Or I’ll make you regret them.”

Never one to back from a challenge, Jason struck back. And as easy as that, a war had started.

Meanwhile, Dick and Marinette were sitting on a nearby bench while sipping their hot chocolate. “You think they’ll mind if we have their chocolate too? I don’t want it to go cold.” The oldest brother stared longingly at the cups sitting on the bench between them.

Mari took a quick glance at the two battling dumbasses in front of them. “Nah, we can get them more later. Have at it.”

It didn’t seem like those two were going to finish bombarding each other with snow any time soon, so they might as well enjoy the rest of the cold December afternoon, a black kitten well hidden inside her jacket. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I’m sorry that this is so short but I’ll try to make up for it on day 7, seeing as I’m also going to skip on day 8 most likely. I’ve been having a blast writing this, hope you had one reading them! <3


	7. Day 7: Dancer AU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this will suffice to make up for missing day 8 tomorrow! I had a lot of fun writing this, and maybe you will reading it too! I will most likely not be able to update on my regular schedule for day 9 but I WILL write something. For now, then, enjoy!

To any onlookers, Damian Wayne and Marinette Dupain-Cheng hated each other. Or at the very least had a strong mutual dislike. Both belonged to the biggest dance studio in Gotham and the surrounding cities (including New York) and were by far the best dancers in the lineup.

Mari prided herself in her contemporary and ballet roots, her grace unmatched, while Damian, even if he was also proficient in contemporary dance, favored a more hip hop inspired style, with a surprising amount of control. These styles clashed head-on more often than not, and since they had both been chosen as the main dancers, this resulted in a fair amount of arguing.

_ This style would fit more with this section. That movement looks out of place. The tempo is wrong. You’re off-beat. _

It was a rare occurrence for them to agree on something, which was why, when the team was preparing a very contemporary-leaning piece, everyone was left gaping at how well they worked together.  _ They even complimented each other.  _ They might as well have landed in a completely different universe. 

Of course, this only lasted until the last presentation of that particular show. After that, it was back to the usual. Mari and Damian would bicker and banter, and do their best to outdo each other in every single practice.

The other dancers in the studio had stopped minding them a long time ago, having given up on intervening after so many attempts failed. Now the only time they got actively involved was when practice was running  _ very _ late because those two couldn’t agree on one part of the choreography, which was to say at least once a week. They couldn’t complain that much about it, though. Despite the constant delays, the crew was always ready by the time the show was supposed to go public.

Marinette and Damian's impressive talent wasn't the only reason they had been chosen to be at the front of their group. The leadership skills they both possessed made them the most adept for the job. They were strict whenever it was time to practice, expecting nothing less than perfection, though their approaches were slightly different.

Marinette preferred to compliment and encourage people to get better with smiles and positive words, and this made her loved by anyone who had ever practiced with her. Damian, on the other hand, had a more blunt way of helping. He would scrutinize people with his sharp eyes and directly tell them what the problem was and how to fix it. It was a very straightforward method, but those who could endure his harsh comments improved tenfold while working with him.

On top of that, any production they put together was guaranteed to be an instant hit due to their competitive and perfectionist natures. They carefully crafted the performance to be attractive and enjoyable for anyone, which made them very popular. 

That night was no different. A full theatre stood in ovation as the curtains were drawn, and everyone behind it cheered for another great presentation. Hugs were exchanged. Congratulations were given to everyone that had participated. It had been another flawless performance. 

Everyone was trying to find the two stars of the show to congratulate them as well, but they were nowhere to be seen. Yet again. No one knew if they didn't like to be the center of attention (which would've been ridiculous given their job), or whether they just wanted to immediately go home to rest, instead of joining the crew for drinks. They just disappeared after the performances and evaded questions the next day. 

If anyone had been paying more attention, though, they would’ve seen the two scurrying quickly outside after changing, and straight into Damian’s car. 

-

No more than an hour later, those who were assumed by their coworkers to barely be able to stand each other were snuggling under a blanket on the couch of their apartment, sharing a glass of wine and eating pizza.

“You did great out there tonight, Angel. That last queue turned out best than I expected it to.” He ran his fingers gently through her hair, hearing her hum contently against his shoulder.

“ _ We _ did great, Dames. Though we could've used some more precision in the jump near the start of the third section.” She chuckled into his ear and kissed his cheek. "Was something distracting you, birdy?"

She was teasing him. God, she just couldn’t let him off the hook for one moment, could she? It was one of the main reasons he had fallen for her in the first place. Marinette was sassy but kind, also fun and incredibly talented on top of that. Oh, and she was freaking hot. How could Damian not love her?

“I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer. We’ll have time to go over mistakes tomorrow, Nette. Tonight we can finally relax, and I plan to make the most out of it.” His girlfriend giggled as he stole a sip of wine from the glass in her hand, and a kiss from her rosy lips.

“Well, it has been a busy couple of months, maybe we do deserve a break.” 

In all truth, they had barely had any time to themselves because of how demanding this last show had been to prepare, and Mari was craving some quality time with her boyfriend.

Her  _ boyfriend _ . 

She still found it hard to believe they had actually wound up together after the distaste they had felt for each other as soon as they had met. Their team’s assumption that their relationship was purely professional with some mutual loathing sprinkled in wasn’t unfounded. Ever since the day they met, they had been at each other’s throats about everything: tracks, moves, compositions. Nothing was decided about a routine without them arguing for hours on end.

That tension between them, however, had slowly morphed into something more without any of them intending it to due to some special circumstances. The pair were by far the ones most likely to spend the most time inside the studio practicing, so it was inevitable that they'd have to interact, at least minimally, on a day to day basis outside practice. And seeing how they were both night owls, they had had no choice but to share the only practice room that was left unlocked late into the night. 

Neither had been happy about it, but none had been willing to back out from their (fairly unhealthy) practice schedule, and so they begrudgingly agreed to share it. 

Straight up dislike turned into reluctant tolerance the longer they spent together. 

Their petty arguments were left to their daily morning practices and at night they held a silent pact to just leave each other alone. 

It worked up until one night when Damian didn't show up. Nor did he for morning practice, or the rest of the week. Marinette would rather eat her tongue than admit she was worried about him beyond any professional interest. But in reality, that whole week had felt quite lonely. When had she become so used to his presence at night, even when neither of them dared utter a word? 

Damian did come back at the end of the week, though with bigger bags under his eyes than he usually had, and the vibrant fire his eyes were known for carrying was replaced with a dim glow.

"You look like shit." Mari hadn't meant to be rude when she had spent the week increasingly worried (for professional reasons) about her dancing partner. "Where have you been?"

Thankfully for her, he didn’t seem to take it to heart. It actually made her feel a bit better when he chuckled, probably amused at her uncharacteristic boldness. “Nice to see you again too. Did you miss me, Angel?” Damian had picked up the habit of calling her that mockingly and it drove her mental. He was teasing her, great. so much for trying to be civil.

“In your dreams, you Demon. I was just hoping you wouldn’t show up again.” Marinette didn’t really mean it, but giving the man any kind of ground on her was simply not something she could do. The hurt on Damian’s eyes might have made her feel bad about it, if only it hadn’t been so quick she was wondering whether she had imagined it.

“And people say you’re the nice one…” 

That mumble was the last thing either of them said that night. But somehow, the silence that reigned between them had shifted into a foreign awkwardness, and by the time they were both back at their respective apartments late into the wee hours of the morning, they knew it wouldn’t be wise to just leave it like that.

The following night, the strange air around them was still there, none wanting to take the first step. In the end, it was Marinette who broke the wall of indifference they had carefully built to separate them.

On one of the many breaks they had taken, she sat next to Damian and offered a sugar cookie. As her partner looked at her with a questioning glance, she tried to convey her feelings clearly through her eyes: she didn’t want to fight (their daytime activities didn’t qualify as such), she sometimes did enjoy his company, and she had _definitely_ been worried during the week he went missing.

Apparently, her look had been on point and she managed to convince him to grab the cookie, only to receive a small box of her favorite juice in exchange. She didn’t know why or how Damian had remembered that or if it had been just a coincidence, but she couldn’t help but give him a sweet smile before getting up and going back to her practice. Had she looked back though, she would’ve seen the ghost of a smile grace the boy’s lips as he nibbled on the cookie before he retired to his side of the room.

Once more, words had been absent inside the studio, but they didn’t need them to understand a truce had just been made.

A few weeks later, with newfound courage, and the excuse that they should practice their part on an oncoming production, Marinette had asked Damian to help her out. She knew he was a great teacher, and thought she might as well take advantage of that since they had to dance together for a section. Despite the atmosphere of animosity having dissipated long ago, she was still (pleasantly) surprised when he agreed. 

“Why are you looking at me like that? We have to do this together, it’s in my best interest to help you perfect the moves.” The matter-of-factly way he said this left no room for her to argue before he turned on the speakers and offered his hand.

The late hours saw the former sworn rivals dance around the room as if they were one. It hadn’t been that long since they had started learning this particular set, and it wasn’t as sleek yet as they wanted it to be, but to the untrained eye, it would’ve appeared as though they had everything under control what with how well they worked together.

Damian was actually enjoying himself, Marinette was an exceptionally good dancer and they complemented each other. This brought him back to the numerous times he had wondered what the point of this supposed rivalry with the bluenette was, and he kept finding there was no real reason for it other than some small disagreements about the choreographies (which he had also had with other people other than Mari). 

After he came back from a week-long break in which he had had to help out with some family matters, he had been surprised by how Marinette looked at him worriedly. I was as though she cared. He knew she was kind and liked to look after their teammates, but he never thought the day would arrive when she would look at him like that. And Damian kind of liked it.

He also had seen how a lot of their group looked at Marinette. She was attractive and he wasn’t blind, but it irked him only a little bit how they would stare at her as if she was the most precious thing they had ever seen. It annoyed him simply at a professional level since they sometimes used getting distracted by her as an excuse for their poor execution.

Yes, that was definitely it. 

If he also felt smug because it was none of them but  _ him _ who got to have late-night practices with Marinette, he would never admit it.

Speaking of getting distracted by Marinette, he really should’ve been paying more attention. Had that been the case, Damian wouldn’t have tripped, bringing Mari down with him, and making them end up on the floor with his face hovering dangerously close to hers.

If he did think about lowering himself to press his lips against her plush pink ones, he quickly recovered, shoving himself off of her with a hurried apology.

“It’s fine, but are you okay? Your ankle did a weird twist before we fell… Can I?” It took the boy a second to understand she was asking to see his ankle.

”Oh, sure.” He sat with his back against the mirror and let her examine him. He was so embarrassed he barely registered her running out of the room and coming back with a first aid kit.

“I don’t think anything is broken, but you should rest for a bit. You should probably sit out tomorrow morning’s session.” There it was, the same expression of worry she had given him weeks before. She was wrapping his ankle carefully so it wouldn’t move more than it needed to. “And you should probably go home for the night.”

For once, Damian didn’t feel the urge to say otherwise, and after a couple of tips from Mari on what he could do to help it heal quicker, he was on the way to his apartment. The image of her lips being so close to his burned in the back of his eyelids.

Marinette was left on her own then, to think about what might’ve happened. It would be fair to say she was nothing less than scared about the fact that, had he leaned in, she wasn’t sure she would’ve minded.

-

The upcoming weeks weren’t kind to the duo’s hearts, as they desperately kept toeing around what had happened. It was never mentioned again, yet the questioning glances they kept trying to sneak at each other when they thought the other wasn’t looking spoke loud enough for themselves. They didn’t know what would happen if they dared try to disrupt whatever it was that it had been forming between them. They were scared. However, this wasn’t bound to last long.

Despite their nightly troubles, Damian and Marinette had their eyes set on the performance they had been working so hard for and made sure their piece (and everyone else’s) was up to standard before the day of the show.

It had been an absolute success.

Damian was beyond himself, and in an unusual impulse, he went looking for his counterpart to congratulate her. Regardless of whatever awkwardness they might have had lately, they had aced their section together. It had been one of the biggest productions of the year and he and Mari had performed spectacularly. He was euphoric. And this was what he’d later pose as the reason for his consequent actions.

Knocking on Marinette’s changing room door, he let himself in after she told him to. She was still in her costume, looking just beautiful with a bright smile on her face and a tired yet content aura surrounding her.

“Oh, Damian, I was about to go looking for you. That was incredible!” In her gleeful state, she quickly crossed the room to hug him and he could’ve sworn he saw her smile become even brighter. “Congratulations. You were awesome out there.”

That was the last push he needed to make a decision, and he acted before he could talk himself out of it.

Kissing Marinette was just as amazing he had expected it to be, if not more. And she was kissing him back! His brain was having a meltdown.

Cupping her cheek and snaking an arm around her waist as he could feel her get on her toes to deepen the kiss was what finally threw him over the edge. Damian Wayne was yet another one of the many who had fallen for Marinette Dupain-Cheng. 

When they finally pulled apart, they were both red in the face and doing their best to avoid each other’s eyes.

“I’m sorry Damian…” Seeing her chew on her lower lip with a worried expression put a halt on his thoughts and made him panic slightly. Was he going to reject him? Even if she had kissed him back, he couldn’t just assume what her feelings were. Maybe she already regretted it. Damian felt himself deflate at that. “I know we kind of got off the wrong foot when we met, but I’ve enjoyed spending time with you lately. I was very comfortable and I didn’t think you’d feel the same way about me. So I didn’t want to ruin that”

He had to do a double-take after hearing that. “You’re...apologizing for what?” If he had understood well, she was saying that she liked him too and that she didn’t want to fuck up whatever weird friendship they had been able to build. He could feel a weight get off his chest.

“I-I don’t know...I guess for not letting you know before or something…” 

He couldn’t help but laugh at that. He did stop immediately when he saw her shrink in on herself, though, and pulled her into a tight hug.

“If anything I should be sorry too, we haven’t been exactly kind to each other. But I’ve liked the time we’ve been spending together too, and I don’t want it to stop. I care about you Marinette, probably more than I was once willing to admit. And, you know? We could and probably should spend some time outside that practice room in the future ”

Marinette’s eyes were shining with hope as she pulled his face down to kiss him one more time.

“Is that a date?”

“Only if you want it to, Angel” 

She pulled away without letting go of him, only to smirk at him mischievously. “I wouldn’t want it any other way, Demon.”

They went on to talk (and kiss) for some more minutes before being interrupted by their teammates who were looking for them, Marinette laughing at the growl Damian let out at the prospect of having to let her go.

Both of them agreed on not mentioning their blooming romantic relationship to the rest, just in case it didn’t work out in the end, and went their separate ways after everything related to the show was finished.

That night they both fell asleep with smiles on their faces.

-

“You seem awfully thoughtful about something, Habibti. Penny for your thoughts?” Damian was playing with the rings on her fingers while looking at her attentively.

“I’m just thinking maybe we should probably tell everyone we’ve been dating for a year. You know, before they find out by themselves and try to murder us for hiding it.” Marinette couldn’t help but chuckle while imagining what their expressions may be. They were bound to cry betrayal at such a reveal. “They’re going to be so mad. They still think we don’t like each other.”

“I know we sometimes argue when setting up stuff but come on, it’s not nearly enough as we used to do, and I’m pretty sure I look like a lovesick fool whenever I see you around. If they haven’t found out about it until now, it’s on them honestly” 

This brought a blush to her cheeks. He did look at her that way, and it made her want to kiss him right there and then in front of everyone. They hadn’t been planning on hiding it this long, they had just simply got used to keeping up appearances at work, even if they hadn’t been actively trying to for the past 4 months or so. 

Over the following year after their first kiss, they had rapidly grown close. They regretted having lost so many months early in their relationship but had been doing their best to make up for it, going on every type of date they could think of. Marinette was the happiest she had been in a long time.

“We can tell them on Friday, that way they’ll have the whole weekend to process and we can hide in case someone is feeling murderous.” Damian did feel like the luckiest man in the world as he looked down at his adorable girlfriend. He couldn’t care less about their teammates’ reactions as long as he had her by his side.

“Sounds good, love. For now, though, I think you owe me a whole lot of kisses because you were a royal pain in the ass today.” Marinette grinned wickedly as she put down the empty glass of wine. He had been nitpicking a lot during their last practice, almost driving her mad.

At last, though, they had been given a couple of days to rest, and she was ready to get the most out of it.

Damian was chuckling as he pulled Mari to his lap. He knew what that look on her face meant.“Was I? My bad. Guess I’ll have to make up for it then.”

He would never get tired of how nice it felt to kiss Marinette, and he could feel himself fall a tiny bit further for her every time he got to.

It had started snowing outside, but inside the apartment, two lovers were basking in each other’s company, and things were bound to heat up pretty quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it for today folks! This one was a bit longer than the other ones and I hope you liked it! As always I love hearing what you thought about it, and if anyone wants to scream at me or ask me to write any prompt my Tumblr is @otpnessmess.  
> Thanks for reading and see you on Monday! <3


	8. Days 8/9: Robin Hood AU + Soulmates AU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I want to apologize in advance if this seems rushed bc the truth is, it kinda was. I want to get back on track as quickly as possible. That said, I hope you enjoy this!

“I finally got you right where I wanted you.”

The hooded figure froze on the spot and Damian couldn’t help but smirk. This had been too easy. He would've been sad it would be this anticlimactic if it hadn't been for the fact that he was so close to finishing the job that had led him on a goose chase all around the kingdom for weeks. 

A mysterious character and their gang had been terrorizing the roads that connected the villages surrounding the Royal Estate, ambushing the carriages of noble figures who had been on their way to the castle. Loads of jewelry and gold, together with food and lavish clothes were stripped right off their owners’ backs, leaving them with nothing more than an empty carriage so the humiliated people could at least conclude their journey to the city and ask for the King’s help. They couldn't have known that the gold was distributed among the villagers, the other valuable possessions sold to traveling merchants in exchange for more gold that was later distributed as well. 

None of the victims were able to identify who inflicted such villainous actions upon them. The only solid piece of information they held was that the thieves’ leader seemed to be very young and wore a black and orange cape that easily camouflaged them when inside the forest.

Two months after the first attack happened, a big ball was supposed to take place to celebrate the Prince’s coming of age. Everyone was invited and it was expected that Prince Felix would meet his soulmate during this party. Soulmates had become more and more of a rarity with the passing centuries, some knowledgeable people in the matter said it was because the souls were becoming corrupted by the body’s humanity. Human nature wasn't compatible with the pure energy of the soulmate bond. Nowadays, even if it wasn’t strange to find someone with the marks on their skin, it was not that common though. Those who were lucky enough to have a bond were graced by having the first words their soulmate would utter to them engraved on their skin. Some had them on the arms, some on the legs, others on the back. There were also those with their soulmate’s words’ engrained somewhere embarrassing, and they usually tried to hide it. Prince Felix had been blessed with a soulmate, which only made the expectations around the event rise to unfathomable heights. 

Loads of people were eager to prove they were the ones destined to marry him. Regency and nobles from neighboring kingdoms were expected to attend en masse, and so the King and Queen had been extremely worried about protecting the visitors against the ruthless criminals.

They sent out a request for bounty hunters who were willing to track and bring back the head of the sleazy leader of the thieves, and Damian Wayne was just the appropriate person for the job. A highly trained soldier and assassin from a tender age, the man had no attachments to family or soulmates, which made him the perfect hitman. He wouldn't leave anyone behind if he died on a mission. 

However, saying that he had no soulmate would be misleading. The words he had written around his wrists were a reminder that he did have a duty to fulfill with someone. He always thought the positioning of his soulmate’s words felt like fate playing a cruel joke on him. It eerily resembled the shape of a pair of cuffs (could've also been bracelets but he had a penchant for the dramatics and was as stubborn as a mule). Because of this, he tended to avoid people as much as he could, not wanting to come face to face with his soulmate, fearful of what it might mean for the way he liked to live his life. 

Damian arrived at the court recommended by the Captain of the Royal Guard himself, and after a demonstration of his abilities to the King and Queen he was hired to kill the one people had started calling Robin Hood (their cape’s colors were very similar to the little bird’s).

For three long weeks, Damian had slept with a heavy heart, frustrated at how difficult it had been to even get a glimpse of the thief. By the time he arrived at a potential ambush spot, the crime had already been committed. But at last, while walking through the open market, he managed to hear some rumors about a supposedly rich noble staying at the village’s inn. It seemed like the perfect target for Hood, and apparently, Lady Luck had decided to grace him with her presence. And so he started preparing his own ambush.

Some bribing is all it took for the noblemen to be persuaded to leave their room for the night, and, after making sure the news of them attending one of the weekly celebrations were spread, Damian had appointed himself in the dark room in waiting. 

He knew an empty room full of valuables would be enough to tempt any person. Especially one with a knack for stealing. 

It fortunately didn't take long for them to appear, clad in a tattered cape and wary of their surroundings. The room had been stripped almost clean of the nobles' belongings astonishingly quick before he had a chance to react. Once he did, though, his body sprung into action. 

_ “I finally got you right where I wanted you.” _

_ The hooded figure froze on the spot and Damian couldn’t help but smirk _ .

What he didn't expect, however, was the thief to clutch their hand against their chest as if they were in pain. For a brief moment, he allowed himself to pause and watch as the figure tore off the cape to reveal a blinding glow coming from under the shirt of a very petite girl with blue hair. 

A glow? What could've possibly-? 

And then it hit him. His biggest nightmare was about to come true. Had he been able to see the words written on her skin, he was sure he would've seen the words he had uttered just now. 

He felt sick. 

The blue-eyed girl took advantage of his momentary slip to throw herself at him, trying to disarm him. Damian reacted instinctively despite his boggled mental state, and every time the girl would try to attack he did his best to thwart her efforts. 

Not in a million years would he have imagined he would struggle against a woman the size of a midget. He was even more surprised when she managed to sneak an exceptionally good punch to his jaw that sent him toppling to the ground. A kick to his temple left him seeing black spots. 

Noticing he was as well as knocked out, the woman grabbed her bag full of treasures that had been forgotten on the floor while they fought and climbed onto the windowsill. She turned back to look at him one last time with sorrowful eyes. 

"If we ever meet again, I hope it's under different circumstances."

And then she jumped.

Damian was left on his own to see through his blurry vision how his wrists glowed brightly in the dimly lit room, a heavy weight settling on his chest before he passed out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that’s it for days 8 and 9 everyone! I’ll try to finish days 10 and 11 tomorrow and have already started on the next update of my Jasonette fic! As always, much love <3


	9. Days 10/11: Fluff + Snow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at me, updating 4 days late because of a mix of writer's block and procrastination :D I will do my best to catch up, but I can't really promise anything so... sorry for being late! Hope you enjoy!

Dick’s camera shutter went off quite loudly in the silent room, earning him a glare from his brother.

“If you wake them up I’ll make you sleep outside Richard.” Jason was glaring at him for almost ruining the very domestic picture they had in front of them.

Earlier that morning, Marinette and Damian had been playing around in the snow with Titus, the storm from the previous night providing them with heaps of it to do whatever they pleased. Even though it did snow in Paris, it was never as much or for as long as in Gotham, so Mari was determined to make the most of this opportunity.

They spent their time making snowmen and having snowball fights, a continuous string of laughter could be heard from the two enjoying themselves. During one of the latter was that Tim found them, and the mischievous teens somehow roped him into joining them, making him take part in their antics.

It was weird for Tim to let himself be this silly since most of the time he wanted to uphold the responsibilities of being a CEO and Red Robin and didn’t allow himself be distracted; so it would be an understatement to say Jason and Dick were surprised when they saw him laughing with the teens right as he nailed Damian square in the face with a snowball. Once they recovered from it, though, the elder brothers decided to leave them be and go down to the Batcave to prepare for that night’s patrol.

When they came back a couple of hours later it seemed the energy those three had had was gone. There was no more laughing and the mugs of hot chocolate and the plates with sugar cookies sitting on the table were all empty, unlike the couch and loveseat in front of the tv.

Damian and Marinette were burrowed under at least two blankets holding each other close with Mari leaning against his chest. Tim was hard to see as he was under three blankets hugging a cushion and, miraculously, sleeping soundly. The only sound in the room coming from whatever Christmas movie they had decided to watch before falling asleep.

Jason chuckled and went to turn it off. “I can’t believe they managed to make Timmy sleep, that’s another miracle from Pixie-Pop for sure. I have to show this to Barbs and Cass, they’re gonna flip.”

Dick gave an agreeing nod and smiled at the sleeping figures. “Better let them rest for now though, I doubt they will stay like this for much longer.”

With that they went to the kitchen in search of Marinette’s famous sugar cookies, not hearing the giggle that came from under the bundle on the couch, followed by a grunt.

“I’ll kill them one of these days.” Damian opened a sleepy eye to look at his girlfriend and stroked her cheek. 

“You wouldn’t, birdy, don’t be mean.” She kissed his fingers with a knowing smile and got comfortable again against him. “Now go back to sleep or you’ll be tired for patrol.”

He obediently closed his eyes and held her tight. “Fine, but one day I will finally kill them and then they’ll see.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was a short quick word vomit I put together in half an hour and it's not beta-ed at all, but thanks for reading nonetheless!!


	10. Days 12/13: Animals + Death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm pretty positive I won't finish this on schedule but I definitely plan on writing the whole lot of prompts. Thanks for sticking with me though I have a terrible update schedule! (Also I totally didn't beta this, I'm currently travelling)

Dead. 

Talia Al Ghul was dead.

An uprising in the League quarters had led to a fight where her second in command had sneaked up on her to (literally and figuratively) stab her in the back. This would’ve been of not much interest for many had it not been that the League was now on the hunt to get rid of the rightful heir to be their leader: Damian Wayne.

Bruce had been informed of this by a mole he had appointed inside the evil organization to keep him updated on Talia’s latest endeavors. They had apparently missed the signs and didn’t predict such a thing happening. The man had yet to tell his son about this development, only having informed him of the death of his mother, hoping to give him some time to mourn if he so desired before dropping such a thing on his shoulders. 

There was no doubt in Bruce's mind that if anyone tried to approach his son with ill intentions the whole family would be quick to jump into action, since no matter how much Damian and his brothers liked to pretend otherwise, they did care a lot about each other after all. 

Speaking of, he should probably check on him and see whether he was ready to hear the development on the situation. Bruce walked down the halls of the mansion towards Damian’s room and found the door ajar, which was weird as he always insisted on it being closed regardless if it was being used or not. What he saw brought a relieved smile to his face. 

The room appeared to be empty except for a gigantic bundle of blankets on the middle of the bed, where if you didn't squint you would miss how Damian and Marinette were tangled so intricately you couldn't tell where what limbs belonged to whom. And in between all of that, Titus and Alfred the cat were napping alongside them, curled up in a protective manner close to their owner. If you paid enough attention you could see the tired lines on the boy's face that gave away he probably hadn't slept at all that night, because despite having such a relationship with her as he did, she was still his mother and the woman that had (albeit with questionable methodology) raised him. 

However, seeing Damian resting his head against Marinette's chest and holding her waist as well as Titus sleeping soundly on top of him, the worries that had been plaguing the man that morning suddenly subsided, if only for a moment. 

His son was strong, and he had a lot of caring people (and animals) surrounding him. Most importantly, he had Marinette. The young girl had brought so much love and happiness into Damian's life, the 10-year-old assassin that tried murdering his other sons upon being brought in to the mansion was nothing but a memory now. They still threatened each other and bickered but he could see a fondness on Damian's eyes that had certainly not been there before. 

With a last look at the image before him, Bruce closed the door and had half a mind to go seeking for Alfred to ask for advice on how to break the news to everyone, not wanting to disrupt the peace the house had fallen into just yet. He might be Batman but even he knew waking up Damian was not the brightest idea, let alone if he was with Marinette.

The League's problems could wait for now. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked that little snippet! Let me know what you thought of it and if you feel like it, I am taking prompt requests over at my tumblr (@otpnessmess), so come scream at me there if you want! Much love <3


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